Actor Ely Henry On His Film ‘Self Reliance,’ Jake Johnson

Ely Henry, who co-stars in the film Self Reliance, spoke to uInterview exclusively at SXSW about the movie.

The film follows Tommy (The New Girl‘s Jake Johnson), who enters a game show to determine whether he lives or dies.

Henry’s not so sure he’d be able to survive a death game like the one in the film. “I would die,” he said with a laugh. “Oh, I mean, look I’d try to get people to hang out with me and you know, I have friends. I have friends. I’ve hung out with people but with constant companionship like that, I would die. I would die. Yeah.”

Late nights working on the film provided his most vivid memories of his time on set. “Yeah,” he recalled, “drinking a coffee at three in the morning ’cause we did a night shoot in Pomona, [California] stands out probably forever ’cause I drank the coffee then immediately we wrapped and I was like, ‘I didn’t need to drink that, so I’m just awake now?'”

Johnson also wrote and directed the film. Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) had the role of Maddy, who also competes for her life. Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-nine) and Wayne Brady round out the all-star cast.

Henry is known for his role in the movie Zeroes, a 2019 film about two lazy roommates who become heroes when they foil a burglary.